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Duluth handled the first shipment of wind power equipment it has seen this season on Tuesday. In seasons past, a June shipment of wind turbine components would have been old hat, but this is no normal year. Normally, the port begins seeing wind power traffic in May.

Some retirees will be granted a bit of a reprieve in 2009 by a bill signed into law last week by President Bush. During the coming year, seniors age 70½ or older won't be forced to withdraw the required portion of their investment portfolio from 401(k)s or conventional Individual Retirement Accounts as they have in the past. The advantages of leaving these funds alone in the current financial environment are obvious, according to Scott Hansen, a certified public accountant and partner in the Duluth firm of Kolquist Seitz & Goldman Ltd. "If you take money out of a fund now, you're essentiall

Cirrus Design Corp. shared a few more details about the jet it is developing during a press conference Wednesday. While Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier still aims to deliver on his promise to produce "the lowest, slowest, shortest-range jet," the company reports its test jet has hit a maximum speed of 319 knots -- the equivalent of 367 mph. However, the production model of the plane will more likely top out at around 300 knots. At the more modest speed of 210 knots, the Cirrus Vision SJ50 is expected to have a maximum range of 1,400 nautical miles.

The effects of a slowing economy are finally coming to roost on the Iron Range. Cliffs Resources said Tuesday it will immediately cut production at Northshore Mining and United Taconite by a combined total of about 300,000 tons per month.

Duluth's dock owners and airport operators received welcome news Monday. By the end of the month, the number of officers assigned to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Duluth will return to five -- the original complement. After recent retirements, the Duluth office had been reduced to three officers and briefly faced the threat of dropping to two. The staff cuts had alarmed Adolph Ojard and Brian Ryks, executive directors of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and the Duluth Airport Authority, respectively.

The soaring price of diesel fuel has made for tough times in the trucking industry. While the price of unleaded gas in Duluth has climbed 20 percent over the past year, the local cost of diesel has outpaced it, rising more than 60 percent during the same time -- from an average price of $2.89 per gallon last year to $4.68 today, according to AAA. Tony Abrams, a Duluth Heights native who works for C2C Transportation Inc. of Goodyear, Ariz., drives a long-haul semi-trailer rig that carries 300 gallons of diesel. At current prices, it costs about $1,400 to fill his truck in Duluth.

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